Two thirds of Northern Ireland students skipping meals as they struggle with housing costs

Two thirds of students in Northern Ireland have admitted skipping meals as they struggle to deal with housing costs.

That's the stark finding from new National Union of Students research today which reveals that 37% of students are struggling to pay their rent every month, with 19% of those resorting to food banks as a result.

The NUS-USI survey into students' and apprentices’ experience of the housing system also found that 44% of students are reporting to have less than £100 per month left after paying all their housing costs.

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Pressures created by housing costs are having a knock-on impact on student food and fuel insecurity, according to the national students’ union in Northern Ireland. Two thirds of NI students say they have skipped a meal, half have gone without heating and 19% have needed to use a foodbank to survive — this represents a 12% rise in food bank usage compared with NUS-USI research from October 2023.

Faced with rising levels of student poverty, some students’ unions have had to set-up food pantries, food banks and free food initiatives to provide additional support for students. The financial strain is leaving two in five students having to rely on financial support from family.

The report also revealed that 51% of students needed to take out a credit card or loan, including buy-now, pay-later credit schemes like Klarna and Clearpay. In Northern Ireland, living with parents or guardians was the most popular living circumstance for students, with 31% opting to stay at home rather than move out. Meanwhile just over a quarter of NI students (26%) live in private rented accommodation shared with roommates.

The report follows a campaign which saw student leaders from Queen’s Students’ Union and Ulster University Students’ Union take part in the NUS UK National Lobby Day at Westminster. An NUS-USI delegation joined over 50 students’ unions from across the UK for lobbying meetings with MPs, raising issues of student housing and the need to scrap the requirement for rental guarantors.

NUS-USI President Ben Friel says it's simply unacceptable that so many students are struggling to afford basic necessities like food and rent.

“We're seeing a generation of students building credit card and loan debts just to keep a roof over their heads. The lack of affordable accommodation is forcing two thirds of students to skip meals and almost one in five students are relying on food banks — these alarming rates of student poverty are not normal and no longer can we accept this as the ‘norm’ for the student experience.

“With student numbers at an all-time high in Belfast and the expansion of Magee to 10,000 in the pipeline, there’s never been a greater need for safe, affordable and secure housing for students. We will continue working with decision-makers in Stormont and Westminster, to bring about rent controls, greater regulation of purpose-built student accommodation, and increased investment in affordable housing options.”

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